Editors: As you investigate suggestions on this page, please sign your edits by adding the following text at the end: --~~~~

We are revising the DBD guides for things to buy and for things to not buy. All products added here belong on one of the two lists.

List of suggestions

"Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative (tentative name) is a
collaboration of Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony and Toshiba to license
and promote HD (high-definition)-capable security for SD Cards and embedded
memory for use in advanced consumer applications such as tablets and
smartphones."

Not DRM in terms of the website, but the technology uses DRM, just as SD and SDHC and SDXC have before it. --Broam 13:41, 9 March 2012 (EST)

- Amazon's DRM-free offers are still limited to the US, and so is Rhapsody.

- The iTunes Music Store is not available on free operating systems and therefore not an option for me as a GNU/Linux user. Apple could simply open an iTunes WEB shop, and their music would be available on all platforms.

- Napster is available (at least the mobile edition), but it still has DRM here.

- The big Swiss download stores - e.g. exlibris.ch, i-m.ch, weltbild-downloads.ch - all have WMA-DRM. Actually none of them is very popular: I think most people use iTunes.

- 7digital looks promising, and it's available in all neighbour countries, but not here!

- eMusic appears to be available globally, so that's probably the best option. Their range of songs is somewhat limited, though.

Can we have a black list of dvd devices that are locked to a region and can not be unlocked. I have just bought a Samsund SH855 and have been to by the company that its is a hardware lock. The ACCC here in Australia says to do so is in breach of the trade practices act but they get out of it as the ACCC says there are unlocked devices on the market meaning its my fault for buying a locked one with out asking.

I think we could have a page for devices, if we don't already. --Broam 13:41, 9 March 2012 (EST)

Just thought I would point out a very DRM infested company called Qtrax.com or
music.qtrax.com.

This company wants to give out free DRM infested music and is available in 13
countries as of now.

Notes: with discussion with mattl, seems to be Windows only. The TOU is pretty onerous. Have not tested, need a nice throwaway email account first. --Broam 13:41, 9 March 2012 (EST)

Thanks to a combination of DRM idiocy and technical and communications failures on the part of EA and Bioware, I (along with thousands of fellow EA/Bioware customers) spent my free time this past weekend needlessly trapped in troubleshooting hell, in a vain attempt to get my single-player game to load. The problem, it turns out, was the Bioware's DRM authorization servers, and as of Tuesday afternoon, the situation still is not resolved. For four days now, those of us who made the mistake of shelling out for Dragon Age:Origins (especially the Ultimate Edition) have been unable to play the single-player game that we paid for. And the unlucky souls who bought the game on Friday haven't yet seen it work properly.

PBS is not something that is easy for free software users to watch. This movie, from their front page, seems to require flash and does not work with Debian Squeeze

I've been following the Defective By Design campaign since it launched. I get that Blu Ray should be boycotted because of its DRM. However, since the Blu Ray and PS3 boycott were first launched a lot has happened. The AACS DRM system has been hacked so we know its possible to do. However, because Blu Ray players require a broadband Internet connection for firmware updates and for the studios to track what we do with our players to prevent copying of films and the image constraint token to down sample video in Full HD for users with analog connections to at least 720P I can understand if there are still some concerns.

Now Blu Ray is evolving though to support 3D. None of the Blu Ray boycott websites cite anything wrong with Blu Ray 3D players, 3D TVs or Blu Ray 3D films. There are boycotts now over the PIPA & SOPA Internet Blacklist bills against all new media in any format however, I have to ask the PIPA/SOPA issues aside do the 3D Blu Ray flicks have a new DRM scheme for 3D versions worse than regular Blu Ray DRM? Does Blu Ray 3D have its own DRM?

I'd like to see an update about Blu Ray 3D and a pro/con analysis for Blu Ray 3D.

Notes: Since Blu-Ray already has DRM, it is safe to assume that Blu-Ray 3D has at least that much DRM, but we could try to find a study or two. --Broam 13:41, 9 March 2012 (EST)

Seems to require a non-Free Download Manager in Java, but I'm not sure this is the built-in Java Download Manager or a custom Download Manager. I am still investigating. --Broam 18:56, 7 March 2012 (EST)

Hi DBD folks, it's probably a good idea to add Project Gutenberg [0] and Archive.org [1] to your list of DRM-free EBook sources [2]. I don't
believe any of their titles come with DRM, and I also believe that their titles are not distributed under non-free licenses (usually, if ever).

BBC DRM?

Is this DRM?

> I don't understand "restrict access on a per-vendor basis".
> Can you flesh that out?
Here's how it works:
1. Approved vendors:
a) Create their own SSL/TLS "root CA", e.g. this is the X.509 name
> for the CA Apple are using for iPhone/iPad (with / as separators)
> /C=US/O=Apple Inc./OU=Apple iPhone/CN=Apple iPhone Device CA
b) Install on each device an SSL client certificate, signed with the
> root CA from a.
2. The approved vendor then gives the "root CA" to the BBC
3. The BBC configure the HTTPS server which serves the media files to
> only serve clients which can present a client certificate signed
> by "root CAs" from step 2.
> a) The approved devices get the file
> b) All other devices get an error
In short, they're using SSL/TLS client authentication to literally
authenticate clients - using private, vendor-specific root CAs to
ensure that only certain classes of approved devices can connect.
Further this also gives the BBC the ability to blacklist specific
devices (e.g. if there's evidence the client certificate has been
compromised).
Known classes of devices include:
- - Apple iPhone devices (iPhone/iPad)
- - Sony PS3
- - devices from "OREGAN Networks"
- IPTV software provider, built on GNU/Linux
- - devices from "ADB Global"
- a "Set Top Box" (STB) builder
So, yes, it's DRM in a way, but it's being done on a per-device
basis.
The interesting to note is that this is being done expressly to lock
out Free Software which existed to make use of an older interface to
iPlayer (the original HTTP/H.264 iPhone interface) - software such as
"get_iplayer" by "LinuxCentre". We know so from a range of public
statements from BBC executives, obliquely from documents released via
FOI requests, and from their actions.
The BBC are concerned that unapproved, 3rd party iPlayer clients -
and Free Software ones particularly - would allow users to easily
circumvent the conditions of use for their media. They consistently
have taken technical actions to block such Free Software. Previously
Free Software could find ways around, but this new SSL authentication
method will be next to impossible to get around technically..
I myself have no problem with honouring the BBCs conditions of use
for media. I do not even have a problem with my software, at least
per default, implementing their conditions (e.g. "delete received
files after X time").
I obviously have a huge problem with the BBC acting to block out Free
Software, except on certain controlled and approved devices, from
their public interface (particularly when I have little choice but to
pay the BBC TV licence). I find it especially galling the BBC can act
this way when it makes much use of Free Software internally to
deliver that public service!
I and others are of course also pursuing this matter via the relevant
UK regulatory authorities (i.e. the "OfCom" regulator, and the "BBC
Trust" which oversees the BBC), but to date they seem to favour the
BBC executives' position.
I thought this matter would be of interest to you. I hope I am not
wasting your time too much!
NB: The BBCs iPlayer interface based on Adobe Flash remains in place
for now. This new HTML/SSL-authentication interface is interesting
for how it uses completely open-standards, implemented by Free
Software, while still managing to restrict access.

List of DRM-free publishers

We need to go through this list and pull out the ones that we don't already have, which are appropriate to list. I doubt, for example, that we should
just list "O'Reilly" -- there needs to be a direct link to a DRM-free area in order to qualify for our list, and should not require any proprietary software in order to access.

Merge /holiday and /nobuyguide into a new guide

Remove ANIME DVDs as they contain weak DRM

Add the OpenPandora to the no-buy guide as it contains nonfree software and firmware.